


Pickle Jar

by ImmortalCoelacanth



Series: Smile for Me Reader as Flower Kid Fics [2]
Category: Smile For Me (Video Game)
Genre: Good thing Gillis is strong, M/M, Pickle jars are a struggle to open, Randy certainly appreciates it, Reader as Flower Kid, Second person POV, among other things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:22:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24633034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImmortalCoelacanth/pseuds/ImmortalCoelacanth
Summary: “PIKL” jars were hard to open, but you knew just the tough, strong guy to handle this.
Relationships: Randy Hapukurk/Gillis Socco
Series: Smile for Me Reader as Flower Kid Fics [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1781032
Comments: 1
Kudos: 26





	Pickle Jar

**Author's Note:**

> I’m back on my Smile for Me kick because I love the game and epilogue! Gillis and Randy are adorable and I felt inspired to write out how the meeting between the two of them might have potentially gone.

The Habitat could be a strange place at times, or all the time depending on your perspective. You had gotten used to the collection of, quite literally, colourful characters that you encountered and interacted with at every turn, but it seemed as though every day you ended up meeting someone new.

Case in point being Randy Hapukurk.

The pickle craving poet that you had found at the bottom of the stairwell. It had been a relief to encounter someone that was as socially anxious as you were, although it was for very different reasons. You were “too” quiet, while Randy was just…

Different.

It honestly made you a bit sad to see how nervous he was, but you were happy he felt safe enough to talk to you and ask for a favour. Granted, it was not a favour that you could really complete on your own. You had taken a moment to show Randy that you both shared the same soft, pathetic, little baby hands which would make opening the pickle jar he had more challenging.

But he still believed in you, and he had entrusted you with the pickle jar in the hopes of granting him sweet, briny salvation. Now you just needed to figure out the best way to open the jar.

As you started to walk away from Randy, he called out to you. “O truest friend, I send you well wishes and fortunate tides on your quest to open the salty elixir!”

You grinned and sent him a thumbs up. You had no clue how you were going to accomplish your quest, but you were certain you would find a way! Randy seemed like such a sweetheart and it made you all the more determined to help him feel happy.

After exiting the stairwell, you did try your best to open the pickle jar on your own, face twisting into a frown as you struggled to get the lid to move. You smacked it a bit and held the jar so hard when you removed your hand you could see the rim of the lid imprinted on your flesh.

You hissed and shook your hand to dull the somewhat numbing pain.

Ronbo took note of your plight, taking a quick drag of his cigar before speaking. “Youse sure is struggling with that jar. Like you could use some help…”

A quick, eager nod was your answer. Yes, surely Ronbo was strong enough to open it for you. The flower on the top of your head swayed in time with your nod, making the clown smile at the sight.

“But I’m busy, someone needs to look after the carnival and keep people smiling.” He continued, and you felt your smile drop in disappointment. “Life responsibilities you wouldn’t get.”

You let out an annoyed huff. It was somewhat annoying that everyone assumed you were younger than you actually were and treated you like a naïve kid. Although, for most it seemed like the title of “kid” was one more so born out of affection rather than a label. Either way, it was nice while also leading to some personal annoyance.

… Not that you would ever mention it, or _could_ mention it, anyways.

You were snapped out of your thoughts when Ronbo started speaking again, gesturing towards the carnival and the various Habiticians that were scattered across the grounds. “Check and see if there’s a tough guy clowning around. He should be able to help ya. Hnk.”

_Tough guy…?_

As the realization of who he was talking about dawned on you, you smiled brightly and nodded in thanks. This got another grin out of Ronbo, who waved as you quickly strode into the carnival grounds in search of your target.

Where was he- _aha!_

Gillis was hard to miss with his intimidating frame and towering height, but he always seemed so… quiet, as though he did not want anyone to notice his presence. You had seen firsthand how much of a sweetheart he could be, both with his love of cute things and the empathy he was willing to express if he felt someone needed it. He had made it clear that he hated people judging him from your interactions with him, and it was something you could relate to. Unconscious expectations and the disappointment when those expectations were not met-

You shook your head. Nope. Not getting into that while you were trying to cheer someone up.

Wanting to further distract yourself from your previous train of thought, you waved as you got closer to the bouncer, hoping to catch his attention. Soon enough, he noticed you and waved back.

“Hey!” Gillis greeted before looking around and crouching down so he was closer to your height. In a much softer, hopeful voice, he quickly asked you a question. “Did you grow any new flowers to show me?”

The slow, somewhat sorrowful, shake of your head caused a frown to appear on his face. You winced at the thought of disappointing him but, well, you had not been able to grow any new flowers here. The only seed you had been able to get your hands on was just barely budding. When you got out of here, you _definitely_ needed to start dropping off flowers at… wherever he lived.

You hoped the quick pat on his shoulder helped convey your apology.

Despite his dismay at your answer, he was quick to put on that macho act as usual, standing upright as a serious look crossed his face, though he was careful to make sure you had moved your arm before he did so.

“GOOD! FLOWERS ARE FOR BABIES, NOT MACHO GUYS LIKE ME! So, what if they… look really pretty when the sun’s shining, and all the… f-fuzzy bees land on them…”

You waved again to catch his attention, cutting off his mumbles about how wonderful flowers were, and how cute bees could be. As he directed his focus back to you, you held out the pickle jar. A pleading expression crossed your face as he processed your unspoken offer.

“Oh! Uh… you need me to open this weak jar? Cause of your baby hands?”

You quickly nodded and, to your surprise, Gillis seemed rather hesitant to help, growing a bit sweatier.

“That’s WAY too easy for me to open! I’d be wasting my time when I could be doing, uh, other TOUGH, MACHO things! Yeah- _huh?”_

The pleading expression on your face as you held the jar out to him again certainly caused him to pause. His flustered state intensified as he took in the… _cute_ expression on your face-

_It was too much._

“Ok, if you REEALLY need my help with this… task. BABY task. I’ll open the jar, easy peasy…”

After he took the jar from you, you grinned and clapped your hands. Yes! That jar stood no chance against Gillis, and you knew it! You watched as he took on a determined stance, holding the jar in one hand while the other rested on the lid. In fact, it was as though the entire carnival had grown silent, the anticipation building…

“Time to… FLEX-”

You watched as the bouncer slowly struggled with the lid, turning it one way and then the other to try and loosen it up. His eyes were narrowed, teeth gritted, and you swore you could see the veins in his arms bulging due to the amount of power he was using, but the lid just… refused to budge!

Not wanting him to give up hope, you clapped your hands together and did your best to cheer for him, despite your naturally soundless state.

To your surprise, your clapping and supportive state seemed to actually be helping him. Slowly, slowly his grip tightened…

“Hrngggggg…”  
  


The hand on the lid started to twist…

“GrrrrAHHHH-“

And the lid popped off.

It flew _somewhere_ in the distance, as though Gillis had accidentally thrown it during its removal, but you were certain you heard _something_ breaking in the background, like a window.

Hopefully, no one would have to pay for that.

Gillis stood in front of you, panting slightly and sweating quite a bit, but he looked victorious as he offered you the pickle jar. “Heh… super easy… _huff_ …”

You placed the opened jar down off to the side and leaned forward to quickly hug Gillis. Normally, you would never have instigated such contact, especially if you did not know whether the recipient would want it or not, but you wanted to make sure he fully understood how grateful you were.

And a small part of you had wanted to hug him since you first realized how soft the bouncer was.

He, naturally, stiffened up at the gesture and quickly looked around to see if anyone was paying attention. Once he was certain that no one was looking at either of you, his eyes quickly grew watery and he let out a sniffle.

“F-Fine, you can have one… hug. A Baby Hug.” Gillis relented as he carefully hugged you back. “Not like I like… hugs… um, thanks…”

You looked up at him, tilted your head to the side, which the still sprouted flower on the top of your head mimicked, and grinned. Communication would forever be a painful hurdle for as long as you remained at the Habitat, but hopefully this was enough.

Based on the blush and smile present on Gillis’ face, you were certain it was.

With your thanks and hug properly delivered, the opened pickle jar was collected, and you set off to deliver Randy’s _briny salvation_ , waving at the other Habiticians as you went. There were still so many you needed to cheer up, so much work that needed to be done, but you could worry about that later.

Randy was your focus now.

The trip back to the stairwell took no time at all, and you were soon greeted by a cheerful exclamation from Randy. “Oh, pungently fragrant flower, the wind carries a briny scent! I see the sweet nectar has been unsealed.”

You grinned at the theatrics before nodding your head. A true, genuine smile took over the poet’s face as he leaned over, performing a mock bow, and waited. Quickly picking up on what he wanted you to do, you lifted the jar up and dumped it over him.

Immediately, Randy was covered in the strong-smelling substance, pickles nearly falling to the ground before he managed to deftly catch them. When the jar was empty you placed it off to the side and watched as the tinted green Randy smiled at you.

It certainly seemed like you had managed to cheer him up.

“Thank you, o faithful friend! The glorious smell of pickles, one could weep… _sniff, sob.”_

The praise and thanks were appreciated, but a part of you felt bad knowing that Gillis would not get the recognition that he deserved. If he had not opened the pickle jar for you, you have no clue how else it might have been opened. Besides, you had a feeling the bouncer could use the confidence booster!

You sprinted away from Randy, ignoring his confusion and questions as you gestured for him to stay put. You could only imagine the stares you were getting as you dashed back towards the carnival, nearly bumping into Putunia in the process. After waving apologetically at her and ignoring her insistence that you needed to continue practicing your tackles to “take down the Green Menace”, you swiftly made your way over to Gillis.

Panting a bit thanks to all the running you had been doing so far, the morning was barely over, you nearly bumped into the bouncer as you came to a halt, hands on your knees as you took a moment to catch your breath.

This, naturally, drew Gillis’ curiosity and concern. “Uh… you okay?”

You looked up at him and nodded before reaching out and grabbing onto one of his arms. Using all your strength, you did your best to tug him towards the stairwell.

As expected, he did not move an inch.

“Heh, your Baby Muscles aren’t enough to move a MACHO MAN like me!” Gillis exclaimed before his bravado turned to confusion. “What’re you doing?”

Doing your best to convey your intent, you gestured towards the courtyard, still tugging on his arm. He seemed pretty confused by what you were trying to do, but ultimately relented and allowed you to pull him towards the courtyard.

“NICE TRAINING, FLOWER CADET!” Putunia called out, throwing her fists up in the air. You awkwardly sent her a thumbs up before continuing with your task.

It took far too long in your opinion to get Gillis to the stairwell, but you eventually managed to. Randy was still standing where you had previously left him, seeming to bask in the heavy smell that now engulfed him. He was snapped out of his trance when you, and Gillis, got close enough.

“Hello, o fruity flower! What has caused your swift return?”

You pointed at the confused bouncer and mimed opening a pickle jar to the best of your abilities. The poet was able to quickly decipher what you were trying to portray and shifted his attention from you to Gillis.

There was already a blush forming on his face.

“Oho! So, this sweaty fellow is the one who freed my salvation from its glassy cage?”

“Uh, yeah?” Gillis hedged, somewhat unsure of what to say. “Opening that jar was SUPER easy for a TOUGH GUY like me!”

“A magnificently muscular specimen, then!” Randy proclaimed before bowing to Gillis in thanks. “You have my external gratitude, savior of pickles!”

“Uh… YEAH! Did… did you really need those pickles so bad?”

“Indeed, I did! I have craved their glorious juices and brine as a fish craves water! You were vital in helping accomplish my wish, according to our flowery friend.”

The bouncer scratched the back of his head, still somewhat flustered by the praise but now starting to calm down a bit more as the conversation progressed. “W-Well, if you need a BUFF, STRONG MAN to open more jars, I’m the guy you should look for!”

Randy’s eyes practically sparkled with joy at the offer. “How wonderful! I shall write poems that praise your strength and victory over the might of the pickle jar!”

From there, the conversation continued with the topic shifting from focusing on the challenge of opening jars to shared interests. While Gillis was not a poet, he certainly seemed interested in listening to some of Randy’s poetry, and it made you happy to see that the two of them were getting along and enjoying the other’s presence.

Who knows, maybe they would become friends because of this.

When there was a break in the conversation, you took the chance to wave and catch both of their attention. You gestured towards the courtyard, indicating that you had to leave.

“Safe travels and good luck on your quest, o flower friend!”

“Yeah! And… uh, Maynard says hi…”

You mentally cooed at that; it was good to see that Gillis still cared for the toy bear and nodded in understanding. With everything settled, you took off and resumed your duty of trying to cheer up those in the Habitat that were still sad.

Someone had to help them, even if you were the least qualified person to do so.

**xxxxxxxxxx**

The next time you saw Gillis and Randy interacting was about a day later. As you made your way down the questionable stairs, you noticed that the pair were seated at the bottom, talking about something. Curious and not wanting to disturb them, you quietly crept down to the landing above them and waited there, looking down at them.

Due to Gillis taking up most of the space, Randy was somewhat squished up against him, not that either of the pair seemed to mind. In fact, Gillis appeared to be downright infatuated with whatever Randy was saying-

_Oh_ , he was reciting some sort of poem! A poem that Gillis was enjoying based on the smile he had, and perhaps he was enjoying just being around Randy too.

The blush on his face certainly made you think so.

The soft-spoken words between them went unheard by you for obvious reasons, but you were glad to see that they were enjoying each other’s company! They looked cute together, too! Your heart melted as you watched Randy lean against Gillis, enthusiastically gesturing to something on one of the pages he had been reading from. The bouncer was sweating drastically at this point, but there was no denying how content he looked with the situation.

You stood up and made your way back to your room, intent on leaving the two _lovebirds_ alone so they could have some peace and quiet.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed reading this oneshot and thank you so much for reading it in the first place! I hope to continue writing more Smile for Me fics, especially since i have some ideas, so hopefully you’ll see more from me in the future!
> 
> Thank you all so much for your support!
> 
> \- ImmortalCoelacanth


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